Capturing The Future
by mrscarstairs
Summary: Of all the advancements in modern technology, Jem finds his favorite to be the digital camera, and delights in the person he can capture behind the lens. Post-Clockwork Princess!


**A/N: Hi everyone! I know that most of my fanfics have been Jessa related, but there just isn't enough of them, and I felt the need to contribute as much as possible. This is thanks to thebanechronicles on Tumblr, who posted a beautiful edit with her headcanon, which I share, that Jem's favorite modern day invention is the digital camera. I intended this to be a lot happier, but it ended kinda on a bittersweet note. oops. I also wanted it to be shorter, but that also didn't go as planned. oops again.**

**Anyway, I highly doubt you're here to listen to me ramble. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I sadly, own nothing but the plot that I came up with for the story. All characters, etc. belong to Cassandra Clare and other rightful owners.**

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_Click. Click._

Jem shifted slightly under the sheets, and Tessa sucked in a breath, careful not to wake him. It was so rare that she could capture him in such an innocent moment, where it was clear from the relaxed planes of his face and the slight yet unhurried shifting of his closed eyes that he was dreaming something pleasant and comforting. Tessa smiled fondly and raised her camera once more, flicking her index finger across the zoom button to perfectly fit his delicate face into the lens. Just as she snapped the photo, Jem half-adjusted himself in his sleep, causing the bed to rock like a ship at sea. Tessa couldn't help but squeal as she was thrown from the mattress, landing in a heap on the carpeted floor of their bedroom. She blew out a breath of relief to find that the camera had not broken, however that was mostly thanks to her shoving the hand that held the object as high in the air as physically possible to keep it safe from harm as she fell.

"What is it? Tessa, are you all right?"

Tessa glanced up from her place on the floor to find Jem above her, peering over the side of the bed. He rubbed at his eyes sleepily and blinked rapidly, his gaze fixed on the camera. He had the most adorably bed head, and Tessa couldn't restrain herself from lifting the camera to snap a quick picture. Jem attempted to dodge it before she could succeed in permanently imprinting his face onto the screen, but it did little good. Tessa brought the photo up and laughed when she caught sight of Jem's almost frightened black eyes looking back at her. _That is one I have to print out_, she thought resolutely. _It is just so him, curious and innocent._

Though he was far from innocent after all he had been through, Tessa knew as well as anyone that the expression itself was a perpetual feature of his, and she cherished it always, as much as his curiosity. The feeling had only increased the more he was re-introduced to modern society, and digital cameras had become one of his favorite inventions. He had recalled the way Henry had used the past camera, built in the late eighteen-hundreds, to take a photo of the members of the London Institute, and how the ever excited man would probably have a heart attack from joy if he were to see what had become of it so many years later.

Tessa forced herself out of her thoughts before they could plunge deeper to things she did not wish to remember—only for the sake of feeling sorry for herself and her stance as an immortal being—and instead focused on Jem, who was sprawled across the mattress with one arm slung over his eyes. He was muttering something in Mandarin, but it was too quiet for Tessa to attempt a translation. She crawled onto the bed and hovered over him, the camera gripped tightly in her hands.

"I suppose this is revenge for yesterday, is it Tessa?" Jem asked, belatedly adding his familiar crooked smile. It was true that the day before, Jem had dragged Tessa all over New York, taking thousands—or so it seemed—pictures, from the skyscrapers and large televisions to miniscule things that Tessa had long since ignored in her old age, such as the autumn leaves dancing around a group of laughing children, and dirty bus notes that hurled themselves into the air when disturbed by a taxi whirling precariously through the traffic. Jem noticed everything, and it was a jarring shock to someone like Tessa, who had surrounded herself with the scenery for so long that she had become almost muted to the area around her. She was enamored with Jem, whose eyes were large and captivated by every movement and object in the city, and after careful instruction from Tessa on how to use it, he had run all over New York City with the camera in his hands and an adventurous smile on his face.

Tessa was beyond exhausted by the time they made it back to their apartment, and she had collapsed onto the bed almost immediately after entering the room. That morning, when Tessa found the camera lying all by itself on the side table next to her, she decided suddenly that she couldn't resist such a perfect opportunity to shoot her own photos. Jem had taken many a picture of her, and his favorite was from when they had paused for an hour inside a small coffee shop, and the foam from Tessa's drink had given her what appeared to be an old man's mustache decorating her upper lip. She had never heard Jem laugh as hard as he had during that moment, except perhaps once upon a time with his parabatai. It brought her unfathomable elation to watch him happy and alive again, so much so that it could almost overshadow the long nights they sometimes spent holding one another while one of them recalled a memory they had not thought of during the blissful hours of the day. Nighttime seemed to bring with it a foul remembrance, one that neither she nor her lost love could fight back.

Tessa grinned. "I have no idea what you are talking about, James," she said with mock ignorance, falling back on her heels. "I mean, it's not like you used up two memory cards with pictures yesterday or anything."

Jem frowned. "Memory cards? Oh, yes, those little discs that go inside the camera. Well, if I had known, then I would not have taken so many photos."

Leaning over so the ends of her hair brushed Jem's forehead, Tessa whispered, "There are so many of them, yet barely any are of you, so forgive me if I go a little wild with the camera." She kissed him softly and tried to pull back, but Jem's other arm shot up fast and cupped her neck, holding her down. She giggled against his mouth, but did not make another move to get away. Before her mind could even process it, Jem had flipped her onto her back, and was kissing her with a bit more urgency. Tessa replied with just as much force, and only moments later did she realize her hands were empty of the camera.

Jem pulled away and smiled triumphantly, waving the stolen camera in front of her face like a trophy. Tessa gasped, shocked that Jem had actually kissed her as a distraction while he plucked the camera from her grasp.

"James Carstairs—" she began warningly, but Jem cut her off, chuckling like a mischievous child caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

"Why would you want these memory cards to be filled up with useless, dull pictures of me?" he asked, scanning the photos as they flashed by like a slide show on the screen. "Especially when they would be so much prettier with you behind the flash?"

Tessa noticed his slight blush, and couldn't help but sigh at the fact that Jem was still embarrassed whenever he said such things to her, even after so many months together. Tessa felt heat rise into her cheeks in answer, and said, "If you take one single photo of me, I will—I will—"

But Jem had already raised the camera, and Tessa heard the faint click as he pressed down on the button with his index finger. "You will do what, exactly?" he teased, almost sounding like he was testing her. Tessa boldly reached for the camera, and Jem fell back against the pillows, just keeping the object out of her reach, even despite Tessa practically lying on top of his chest.

"Give it back! Jem!" Tessa tried to keep the laugh from escaping her lips, but it bubbled out of her throat anyways, and she mentally cursed herself as Jem beamed at her. She was trying to be serious, but it was impossible with him looking down at her the way he was, as if she shone even brighter than the morning sun streaming through the bedroom windows.

She could not bring herself to tell him the truth, that she wished to take so many pictures of him—sleeping, laughing, angry, whatever emotions she could capture—because someday those would be the only things she had left of him. They would be her only physical sign that he had ever entered her life in the first place, and she would need them when her days no longer lit up at the sight of him and his brilliant smile, but instead were replaced with nothing but shades of black and grey, just as they had when Will had died.

She couldn't ignore the inevitable future. It was written all over her body and the rooms she lived in and the air she breathed. If someday, eighty years from now, all she had were these photos of Jem, if they were all she had to hold onto, then she would make sure she captured every beautiful moment of his existence. She would hold them against her heart and treasure their life together and remember the Jem that had kissed her passionately simply so he could steal that very camera away from her.

Because he was her North Star, and she was his.

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**A/N: Well, what did you guys think? Again, sorry I ended it kind of on a sad note, but it just happened, and I sort of liked it, so I didn't change it. Please drop a review below, even if it's only a few words. I love hearing your feedback, and it would mean a lot to know what you guys think, so please review :)**

**I'll see you guys later!**


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